Lawn-mower



(No Model.) '2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

C. NEWHALL.

LAWN MOWBR.

` Patented June 2o, 1882.

(No Model.) Y sheets-sheet 2. f G. BIEWYHIJL Y LAWN MOWER. v NGL259.904, f Patented June 20, 1882; Y

PATENT OFFICE.'

CYRUS N-EVVHALL, OF HINSDALE, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

LAWNfMOWER.

SPECIFICATION forming part Vof Letters Patent No. 259,904, dated June20, 1882. Application nled Aprnllssa (No model) To all whom it mayconcern.:

Be it known that I, OYRUs NEWHALL, of Hillsdale, in the county ofCheshire and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Lawn-Mowing Machines, of which the following is aspecification and description'.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, durable, andellective means for driving the -revolving cutters in a lawn-mowingmachine, and l accomplish this by the mechanism substantially ashereinafter described, alld illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure I is a transverse section of the machine at line A of Fig.II, showing the mechanism for driving the revolving cutters. Fig. II isa vertical longitudinal section of a portion of the machine at one elld.Fig. III is a perspective view of the clutch which is keyed to the shaftor axle, the saddle-piece secured to the clutch, and the toothed idlerswhich revolve on the journals ofthe saddle which communicates motionfrom the internal gear to the toothed wheel on the revolving reel.FiglllT is an end View of the socket in which the ratch- V et dog orpawl is placed. Fig. Vis a plan view of the clutch, the saddle-piecesecured thereto, with its idler-gears in place, and the gear on therevolving cutters; and Fig. VI is a front view ot' the toothed face ofthe clutch.

Invthe drawings, l represellts the drivingwheel, of which there are two,secured one at each end of ashaft or axle, as 3, and the inside ofthehub of each wheel, as 1, is made to receive a clutch, as l2, which iskeyed fast to the axle, and whose outerface is provided` with a seriesof radial projections, as 13, with a projecting hub, as 11, on theopposite side,whose extreme end is preferablyT ilattened or otherwiseprepared to receive the saddle-piece, as 5, this flattened end of thehub of the clutch t- Y ting intothe elongated hole, as 6, in thesaddle-piece, by which the two ,are secured rmly together; and thissaddle-piece is provided with a projecting spindle, as 8, at each end,upon which is adapted to revolve a toothed wheel, as 9. l t

A plate, as 2, to which the handle, as 30, is secured, is hung upon theclutch, as 12, at each end ot' the machine, and at one end of themachine this plate is enlarged, and is provided withaninwardly-projecting ange, as 25, upon the inside ot' which is cast al1internal gear, as 10, and this gear is required only at one end of themachine, as will be further explained hereinafter. These plates, as 2,one at each endl of the machine, are suitably connected and secllred byrods, as 22, forming a frame, and 'each plate is provided witha smallprojection or protuberance, as 15; and one end of the xed knife bar, as20, is secured to one of the said plates, and the other end to the otherplate, by adjusting-screws, as 18 and 19, with the protuberance, as 15,bearing against the Vknife-har, as at 16, so that by turning the screwsproperly the knife-bar will rock on said proluberance and be securedwith the fixed knil'e, as 17, secured to said knife-bar at any desiredelevation.

A'dog, as 23, having a prislnatic head, beveled at the extreme inner endon one side, is placed in a hole, as 24, in the wheel, as 1, from theinside, with the open end of the hole of a form corresponding totheprismatic elld of the dog to hold the latter in its proper position,with a spring inside to keep the dog always in engagement with the teethof the clutcll. A bonnet or plate,`as 26, is fitted to this ilange 25 onthe inside and covers the mechanisln inside, and the hub, as 4, ot' theend frame, to which the revolving knife-blades are secured', (whichframes revolve loosely on the shaft 3,) projects through this plateorbonnet, with a small toothed wheel, as 31, made upon or secured to theextreme end of said hub, which toothed wheel engages with both toothedidler-wheels 9, revolving on the spindles 8 of the saddlepiece 5, theseidler-wheels 9 also engaging with the internal gear, 10, cast on theinside ot' the llange l 25 of the fixed frame 2. I prefer to make orcast this toothed wheel, as 3l, integral vwith the h ub 4 of the cutteror knife frame, as it will be equally asoperative and will be moreeasily and cheaply made.

The dog, as 23, which is fast ill the wheel, is held by its spring inconstant enga-gement with the-teeth of the clutch, and when the wheels lare revolved in a forward direction the dog carries around with it theclutch, and also the saddle-piece 5, secured to the clutch, and as thetoothed idlerwheels 9 engage with the internal gear, 10, inside theilange 25, and also engage with the small toothed wheel, as

ICO

31, between them on the hub of the knifeframe supporting the revolvingcutter or knife, the internal gear, l0, being connected with the plateor frame 2, and consequently remaining stationary, the knife-frame andrevolving cutters are revolved at a speed as much greater than the speedofthe revolving drivin g-wheels 1 as the diameter of the internal gear,10, is greater than the diameter of the small toothed wheel, as 31, onthe hub of the frame of the revolving cutters.

It will be seen that the axle 3 revolves with and at the same speed asthe driving-wheels 1, because the wheel and dog carry the clutch andaxle, which are keyed fast together; and as the axle revolves in thesame direction as the knife revolves, the latter revolving faster thanthe axle, it is evident that much of the friction of the knife revolvingupon the axle is removed, which is a very important feature of theinvention.

I construct the machine, in practice, with a dog, as 23, in eachdriving-wheel 1, to engage with a clutch, as 12, at each end of themachine upon which the frame, as 2, has its bear-Y ing, the clutchesrevolving in the frame; but I use the saddle-piece, as 5, and theinternal gear, 10, and the toothed wheels, as 9 and 31, only at one endof the machine, as the knife will be revolved quite well with the gearpart of the driving mechanism at onlyone end of the machine.

It is evident that the machine would be operative with only one toothedidler-wheel revolving on its spindle on the saddle-piece; but I preferto use two, in order that this part of the mechanism may be more evenlybalanced and work more smoothly.

If the small toothed wheels, as 3l, are made or cast integral with thehub, as 4, of the end frame to which the revolving knife blades areattached, both said end frames may be made alike, and the hub of that atthe other end of the axle from that which is in use with thedriving-gear may extend along the axle in the same direction, so thatshould the small toothed wheel on the hub which is iu use with thedrivinggear become injured the two end knife-frames may be detached fromthe knifeblades and be interehanged, if desired.

It will be seen that this driving mechanism is effective and durable,and the revolving cutters may be driven at any desired velocity byincreasing or diminishing the diameter of the stationary internal gear,as 10, with relation to the diameter ofthe small toothed wheel,

It is evident that any desired form of dog maybe secured in thedriving-wheel to engage with and actuate the clutch, and that saiddogsand clutches may be interchangeable, or either pair t or be adapted toeither end ofthe machine.

If desired, the relative position of the clutch and the actuating-dogmay be reversedthat is to say, the radial teeth ofthe clutch might hecast on the inner face of the wheel, and the actuating-dog mi ghtbesocketed in an enlarged place on the axle, but the resulting movement ofthe knife, axle, and driving-wheels would be precisely the same as whenarranged as herelnhefore described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. In animproved lawn-mowing machine, the combination of an axle supported bytwo driving-wheels, each provided with an actuating-dog, a clutch fixedto said axle inside of each driving-wheel and engaging with said dog, astationary frame supported upon said clutch or axle at each end of themachine and provided with an internal gear, a saddle-piece secured tosaid clutch and provided with one or more toothed idler-wheels adaptedto revolve thereon and engage with said internal gear, and a toothedwheel on the revolving knifeframe, adapted to engage with saididlerwheels, whereby said revolving knife is rotated by the movement ofthe driving-wheels, substantially as described.

2. An improved lawn-mowing machine consisting of the combination of amain supporting axle or shaft, two driving-wheels secured thereon, aknife-frame supported by and adapted to revolve upon said main axle, andsuitable mechanism for revolving said axle and said knifeframe both inthe same direction and at different rates of speed, substantially asdescribed.

CYRUS NEWHALL.

Witnesses:

HENRY E. HUNTER, HENRY lt. VAILLE, Jr.

